Child At Heart
by Indigo Flare
Summary: A 25 year old woman from our world finds herself swept away to a place where no one takes her seriously, find out why inside!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Lord of the Rings and all characters therein were created by J.R.R. Tolkien, and I do not claim them as my own. The only character I have created is Lyla / Elenriel.

Yes, she's a Mary-Sue…..I guess….if she doesn't really want Legolas, does that still mean she's one? Anyway, you have been warned, flames will be used to make smores.

**Some Explanation****:** **After researching elves a little (compliments of Tolkien's notes), I discovered that they don't reach physical adulthood until the age of 50, and then aren't accepted as adults until they are 100 years of age. This whole fic revolves around this fact, so that's what gives with the lengthy intro, enjoy!**

**A Child at Heart**

Life was good, life was really good. Lyla couldn't complain about her life thus far. Yes, it had had its share of rough spots, but for the most part it had treated her well. Of course, any 25 year old with a job like hers certainly shouldn't complain. She made her living as a fashion show photographer, traveling with certain shows and models. And while the 'fashion' crowd tended to lean on the snooty side, they mostly left her alone. No significant other to speak of, she didn't have time for it. A loft apartment in Tampa Florida all her own, plenty of paints and canvases, and all the frozen burritos she could eat. Yep, life was good.

So it was, one evening, after coming home from a long flight out of New York that Lyla's life changed for eternity.

Lyla trudged into the violet-colored living room, suitcase in tow. She slowly locked the door behind her, kicked off her shoes, dropped her suitcase where it stood, then made her way to the bathroom, shedding her suit in the process. The bathroom was spacious, and the color combined with the light gave the sensation of walking into the private quarters of a golden goddess. Sinking down into the steaming tub, she reflected on her work week, then the lovely smell of the bath oils, then nothing at all. It seemed a second and an eternity before she finally rose from the cooling water, dried off, then made her way to the sanctuary of her bedroom.

Before she could crawl into bed, her phone rang. Suppressing a groan, she dragged herself to the phone.

"mhello?"

"Lyla? God, you sound exhausted, how was New York?"

James, her best buddy in the whole world. He and his boyfriend lived just outside of Tampa, and made sure she didn't get swallowed by her work.

"Hey James, New York was fun! A little too busy for my tastes though."

"Yeah, it's like that, slow down for even a minute and you get run over by a guy with a briefcase….hm, love a man in a suit…"

Lyla smiled fondly.

"Well girl, you sound tired from your trip, go get some sleep, I'll make sure no one bothers you, and Joey and I will meet you for dinner tomorrow night, okay?

"Alright darlin, see you then, tell Joey I said hi."

"Will do, bye!"

Chuckling and shaking her head, Lyla padded back to her bedroom. Slipping into the downy green sheets, she was looking forward to a long week off…

Her dreams were strange, filled with images from another time and place. Who were these beautiful people dancing around her so gracefully they could have been floating? Where was the haunting melody coming from? She felt safe, and loved, then she saw him, the sad one. Long, dark, raven hair cascaded around his shoulders, spilling onto the regal red mantle that gave him an air of royalty. A shining circlet adorned his head, furthering her suspicions that he was some kind of nobility. His grey eyes were darkened, however, sorrow etched in his handsome face.

He was gone then, and replaced with an elderly man dressed in grey, and, she thought, a matching grey beard! The old man turned towards her and smiled.

"Welcome home, little one." He said softly.

She felt suddenly like she was flying, then spinning madly through nothing and everything, it was making her extremely dizzy. The spinning started to slow, then stopped altogether, and Lyla wondered why she was still sleeping, usually as soon as she became aware of the action of dreaming, she awakened. But this dream kept going. Soon she felt the sensation of floating gently downwards, as though on a cloud. Eventually, the downward motion stopped, but the cloud remained under her. She felt …lighter, for lack of a better term, though Lyla couldn't explain it any further than that.

She heard a voice, no…two voices. One was familiar. The old man, yes, it was the same voice. The other was distinctly male, but no recognition came. She thought for a moment they were calling to her, then she didn't care, she was too tired.

"_Can one be tired if you're still asleep?" _she thought as she drifted off,_ "And why do I feel like I'm falling back to sleep…? A dream of a dream?? …damn, I must be more exhausted than I thought."_

She allowed herself to drift back into nothingness, unaware of the concerned eyes that watched her anxiously.

___________________________

"Thank Elbereth," Elrond sighed.

He was watching the sleeping form on the bed, trembling slightly from joy and relief. The wizard next to him was keeping a steadying hand on his friend's shoulder, giving support where he could. Elrond wanted to scoop up his dreaming daughter and weep for joy, but Gandalf had warned him not to move her too much until she had recovered from the ordeal of traveling between worlds.

"It is a lot to go through," he had explained, "like turning a bird into a fish, then back to a bird, she must learn to be her true self, you must be patient with her."

Elrond nodded mutely, thinking about how happy his other children would be now that their youngest sibling had returned."


	2. Chapter 2

**OMG forgot disclaimer!!!: Middle Earth and all creatures, peoples, and languages therein belong to John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. The character of Lyla belongs to me. (whew)**

CHAPTER 2

Lyla stirred, but didn't wake, still floating on that cloud that gently carried her through dreams of sparkling lakes and enchanted glades. She was brought to reality at the sound of a bell tolling somewhere in the distance. All at once, the lakes and glades faded, along with the cloud, which was replaced by soft downy sheets and pillows. Lyla blinked slowly, as heavy sleepers do when waking from a pleasant dream. She felt…..odd.

Sitting up slowly, she gazed around, bleary-eyed, at her surroundings. Pale-colored marble looking walls, vaulted ceiling, intricate tapestries, weaving designs on the pillars leading outside…hmm. Her first reaction was to sink back down into the pillows and go back to sleep. This wasn't her room, she must still be in a dream.

She found that she couldn't fall back to sleep. Sitting up again, she shook her head as though to clear it.

"Are you awake?" A female voice came from somewhere around the corner, followed by a woman who looked about her age. "How do you feel little one?"

Lyla frowned…little one?? "I…feel…" She halted in her speech, why did her voice sound so …small?

The woman nodded, "I'll go fetch your father, and he will explain everything."

The strange lady, who hadn't introduced herself, swept gracefully from the room. Now Lyla was even more confused, and the way the woman had been speaking to her made it sound like she was a baby. She hated it, and now she was wondering exactly what had happened to bring her to this strange (but gorgeous) place. And for that matter, her father didn't speak to her, and she didn't speak to him, so what did HE have to do with all this?! As she was pondering this very puzzle, she brought her hands up to run them through her hair…and froze at the sight of them.

They were…tiny. She looked down at the rest of herself. "…Wha…?!" Gone was the body of the adult Lyla, along with her once impressive curves. She now inhabited the body of a child. Lyla jumped out of bed, nearly stumbling on her now very short legs, and made her way to the mirror on the wall. She staggered, her reflection showing her now ten year old self.

"Holy sh…"

"Lalaith?"

Lyla spun around to see a very tall man standing there with an overjoyed expression on his face. Dark hair flowed down over his shoulders, a shining circlet adorned his head…wait, this was the man from her dream! The sad one!

She must have gone pale because he slowly approached her, knelt down, and placed gentle hands on her shoulders.

"Young one, what's wrong?"

It was a moment before she could find her voice. "Wh-what happened to me? And who are you?"

He grinned from ear to pointed ear. "Lalaith," he said slowly, "I realize this may be very confusing and frightening, but I want you to know that no one here is going to harm you, alright?"

Lyla nodded slowly, disliking how he was speaking to her. The still nameless man took a breath before continuing.

"Lalaith, my name is Elrond, I am your Father."

An amused laugh erupted from Lyla's lips, she couldn't help it, God help her, the only thing going through her mind was '_Luke, I am your Father'_. Then what he actually said also went through her mind. She expected this guy to smile and say that he was joking, and that this whole thing was some elaborate prank pulled on her by James and company. He didn't, though, and continued gazing at her with a hopeful look in his eyes. Lyla stopped laughing.

"No. You can't be. I mean…we don't even…" she stopped and looked back at her reflection. She did, in fact, resemble him quite strongly. "Wait, how…?" She looked back at him. "What the hell is going on here, where am I? Who are you really? And why have I been brought here against my will?!"

Elrond looked startled, then disapproving. "Mind your language, Lalaith, I do not know how badly they treated you in that other place…"

"They didn't treat me badly."

Elrond took another breath. "I apologize, my daughter. As for you being brought against your will, it is far better for you to grow up here in Rivendell than in a strange foreign world."

"I am grown up."

Elrond raised his brow, then smiled the way parents do when faced with a pouting 2 year old. "Of course, Lalaith, again, I apologize."

"Why do you keep calling me Lalaith? My name is Lyla." She looked back at the mirror, "At least, I thought it was."

Elrond followed her gaze to the mirror. "Lalaith is the name given to you at your birth. As for the name Lyla, it is a pretty name, do you know what it means?" he looked back at her, his expression reminding her of when she would baby-sit her neighbor's toddler. She made that same face when she was trying to make that 7-year-old go to bed.

"Well, in Hebrew it means night, and in Persian it means dark princess. What does Lalaith mean?"

Elrond smiled again, "It means laughter, because your mother and I were filled with such joy at your birth." He hugged her to him then, but released her when she froze.

"What about my mom? What about my family and friends? What am I going to tell them?" Lyla pulled away from her supposed father. "At least give some time with them to let them know I'm alright. …I mean, I was supposed to be at work this morning, I've probably lost my job, I was supposed to call my mom when I woke up to tell her I had a safe trip. What time is it?!" She looked over Elrond's shoulder to see the sun setting. "Great, just wonderful. How am I going to explain all this?"

Elrond's smile had faded to a look of concern. "Little one, you don't have to work here. You won't be forced into any kind of hardship…"

"Elrond, …it's Elrond, right?"

Elrond looked hopeful, "That is my name, but you may call me ada, if you like."

Lyla just looked flabbergasted, "What's ada?" She asked, frowning at the condescending tone in his voice.

"It means father." Replied Elrond, in the same tone.

Lyla's face was one of exasperation, "I have yet to be convinced that you are in fact who you say you are, so we'll hold off on the family titles, k?"

Elrond's face fell, "Very well my daug-…Lalaith. Or do you prefer to be called Lyla?"

"Lyla will do fine, now can I go back please? I have a life to try and salvage."

Elrond shook his head, "Little one, the one who brought you here used most of his strength to make sure you arrived safely, and has gone off to rest. I don't know when he will be returning.

Lyla's face fell. "…What? ...Wait, you can't…" Lyla looked at him, taken aback. "You're going to keep me here? What if I don't want to stay?"

Unbeknownst to Lyla, Elrond was trying his hardest not to break down completely, he had been half-expecting something like this to happen, but that didn't make it any easier. "I don't know how to send you back, my daughter."

Lyla was still staring at him like he had lost his mind. "You…could direct me to a phone, or a nearby airport, you know, somewhere I could get back to Tampa…?"

Elrond looked surprised, "Tampa? Is that the name of the city you lived in?"

Lyla nodded slowly, "Yeah, in the United States of America. So, can I use a phone please?"

It took Elrond a moment to respond, and his answer floored her. "What is a phone?"

Lyla stopped and backed up, looking as though the wind had been knocked out of her, "That's not funny…I want to go home."

Elrond had that sad expression on his face again, "You are home, Lalaith."

Lyla's back hit the railing of the balcony behind her, and she turned to see what lay beyond it. Her breath caught, her eyes taking in the forest, the mountains all around them, the waterfalls dancing down the cliffs, the graceful buildings almost blending in with the trees scattered throughout the small city.

"…My God…where am I?"

**Chapters will come as soon as I can type them, work and college take time away from fics, sorry! **


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